Contents

Summary

After having his first bout with Randy Orton stopped (contentiously) due to injury and winning the second via count-out, Daniel Bryan didn’t mince words at all on Raw when he promised to defeat The Apex Predator in their scheduled rubber match on Raw.

And while Orton is typically content to be the strong, silent type, he didn’t sugar coat his increasing disdain for the submission expert and demaded Bryan "shut up and fight." Unfortunately, the aggression between the two Superstars boiled over to such a degree that the bout was stopped cold before it could even get going and a Double-Disqualification verdict was handed down ... though that didn't stop them from nearly destroying the ringside area in a feral, all-out brawl that required an entire crew of referees to halt.

Happily for Bryan, however, a quick powwow with Vickie Guerrero (and some smooth threatening of Brad Maddox's well-being) landed him one final shot at the rematch for later in the evening.

Sheamus felt the sting of Team Rhodes Scholars last week in a Handicap Match, but The Celtic Warrior dished out some payback when Christian teamed up with him to even the odds on Raw. The recently returned Captain Charisma kept up his strong comeback, getting in some heavy offense on his former rival Cody Rhodes. A tag-in to Sandow kept the Scholars in the hunt, but the brainy brawlers were left to eat crow when Christian managed to reach Sheamus, who took advantage of a brief Rhodes Scholars miscommunication to hit Cody with a Brogue Kick straight to the ‘stache.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, especially when the scorner happened to be said woman’s former best friend. Exhibit A of this is Kaitlyn, who has unleashed a flurry of ruthless aggression following AJ Lee’s psychological and physical conquest of the former Divas Champion at WWE Payback. The “Hybrid Diva’s” punching bag of choice in Charleston was Aksana, who received a match with the former champion after a scuffle on SmackDown.

Despite AJ’s attempts to distract Kaitlyn by mocking her in a blonde wig and muscle suit, the “Hybrid Diva” earned the win with a spear to Aksana’s gut. Still, it didn’t stop the new champion from rubbing salt in the wound by recruiting Big E Langston to re-enact the Catfishing from a couple of weeks ago. If not for Layla’s timely restraint of Kaitlyn in the ring, Raw might have seen its second all-out brawl in the first half-hour.

Chris Jericho left SmackDown with some unfinished business against Alberto Del Rio, and The Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla got another chance against the vicious World Heavyweight Champion in Charleston on Raw. It may be that Jericho took Del Rio’s recent chicanery for a lack of heart, but The Essence of Excellence certainly proved Y2J wrong in a brutal, 20-minute contest that may as well have unfolded in a dimly-lit South Carolina alleyway as opposed to a wrestling ring.

Things kicked into high gear after Del Rio countered the Codebreaker and Y2J paid him back in kind, reversing the Cross Armbreaker into a potentially match-deciding Walls of Jericho that was broken up thanks to an attack by Ricardo Rodriguez. With both manager and champion swarming Jericho, things looked dire until the World Title rematch-ready Dolph Ziggler swarmed the ring and flattened Del Rio with the Zig Zag … before giving Jericho one of his own as payment for Jericho's Codebreaker last Friday.

If there’s one reliable rule of Monday Night Raw, it’s that unveiling ceremonies for video game covers rarely pass without incident. And rest assured, Team Brickie did Big Johnny proud, carrying on his legacy by unveiling a pair of truly preposterous custom covers for the latest WWE video game. Granted, they had motivation for their creativity – a contest that will allow the WWE Universe to create the true alternate cover for the game – but the results were truly bizarre. First, Vickie unveiled a cover featuring the McMahon-Helmsley family (subtle, that), and Maddox responding with a design featuring himself front and center, flanked by the images of John Cena and CM Punk.

Happily, Jerry Lawler stopped the madness by unveiling the true cover, with great ostentation: a dynamic design featuring none other than The People’s Champion, The Rock. Now that’s electrifying.

Ryback rules again, but it wasn’t exactly easy going when the “Human Wrecking Ball” faced off against The Great Khali in his first match since falling to John Cena at WWE Payback. The Punjabi Titan was relentless in his offense on the mighty Ryback, powering his opponent into a corner and raining chops upon the “Human Wrecking Ball’s” head.

Ryback found himself similarly besieged when he attempted to move to the center of the ring. But the big man found his opening when Khali set up for the Punjabi Plunge, kicking the giant’s knees out and hauling him up for Shell Shocked (!), taking an extra lap with Khali around the ring to demonstrate his strength and snarling “I’m still hungry” after scoring the pin. If nothing else, that certainly bodes ill for his next opponent, though it's unlikely that particular Superstar is averse to the challenge.

The word around the WWE Universe is that Mark Henry’s sneak attack against John Cena deserved an Academy Award, but there was at least one Superstar who was thoroughly unimpressed with the acting chops of The World’s Strongest Man: Cena himself.

The Cenation Commander-in-Chief did not pull punches in his missive to the WWE Universe, calling Henry out for “disgracing” not only his family but previous Superstars who conceded their careers to Father Time. But he did concede to one of Henry’s points: the WWE Title must be earned. And with their match set for Money in the Bank, Cena promised Henry that he would try – and fail – to earn his place in the pantheon of WWE Champions, and would find out what the world already knows: The Champ is here.

They said they wanted a piece of The Shield, and that's what Jimmy & Jey Uso are going to get after securing their spot as the No. 1 contenders to Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns’ Tag Team Championships. With Tons of Funk and 3MB standing in their way, Rikishi’s twin sons unleashed their trademark, high-octane offense in a coordinated strike to earn their way to the No. 1 contenders’ spots.

Taking advantage of a Brodus splash to 3MB off the apron, The Usos focused their attention on Tensai, dropping the big man with a Samoan Drop-Superfly Splash combo for a decidedly sweet victory … one that even the menacing presence of Rollins & Reigns couldn’t dispel for the workhorse tandem.

CM Punk’s got a lot on his mind, and it ain’t just the Chicago Blackhawks. There’s been trouble a-brewing in Punk’s own trusted circle following Brock Lesnar’s attack of The Straight Edge Superstar on Raw last week, and despite his reluctance to air dirty laundry in front of the WWE Universe, Punk conceded to Paul Heyman's invitation to a public powwow. Punk, for his part, had two orders of business. No. 1: Punk told Heyman to inform Lesnar that The Second City Saint was coming for him. And No. 2: More than anything else, Punk wanted the truth from Heyman as to whether or not The Anomaly was acting on his orders.

Heyman vehemently denied the allegations, swearing on his children that Lesnar acted alone and – despite the “professional jealousy” between his clients that led Heyman to keep them separate – he would never represent anyone against The Second City Saint. The heartfelt tell-all seemed to move Punk enough for a friendly embrace, but the conflicted expression on Punk’s face seemed to say more than either man, in all their eloquence, ever could.

Darren Young was truly ready for Prime Time on Raw when he mounted a challenge against CM Punk and acquitted himself incredibly well in defeat, nearly earning a win over The Straight Edge Superstar before finally falling to the former champ’s fury.

With Punk still getting his sea legs back under him, “Mr. No Days Off” mounted a stiff challenge against The Second City Saint and actually kept Punk on the ropes for a good chunk of the match. A Gut Buster to the former WWE Champion seemingly wrapped the bout up for Young, but Punk retaliated and tapped D. Young out in seconds with a ruthless Anaconda Vise. Titus O’Neil swarmed the ring to avenge his friend’s loss, but that brought out an unlikely cavalry in the form of Curtis Axel, who helped his fellow “Heyman Guy” send The Prime Time Players away … much to the seeming chagrin of Punk himself.

Mark Henry is many things: World’s Strongest Man, former World Heavyweight Champion and award-caliber actor, but he is also – to borrow a phrase from a certain director he said reached out to him – an abysmal winner. Henry wasn’t remorseful in the slightest just hours after John Cena condemned his trickery from the previous week, mocking the “puppets” who bit into his retirement fakery hook, line and sinker and vowing once again to cement his legacy with a WWE Championship win. Evoking his own words from the previous week, Henry promised to the WWE Universe that at Money in the Bank, he’d be “coming home” with the WWE Title in his massive clutches and left without another word.

The sweetest victories are the hardest-earned ones, and given Daniel Bryan’s quest to prove himself, his long-awaited win on Raw was perhaps the sweetest of all. With the WWE Universe naming his rematch with Randy Orton as a Street Fight, Bryan unleashed the full scope of his skills in an anything-goes environment against The Apex Predator in a bout that literally took the two around the entire arena.

A strike to the head with a steel chair gave Orton the early momentum, but Bryan churned back to life, powerbombing Orton through a table off the apron and hacking away at The Viper with kicks and kendo sticks alike before plying the “No!” Lock. Orton used the kendo stick to escape the hold, but Bryan dodged the RKO and struck The Viper with the cane, weakening his arm and wrenching in the “No!” Lock once again, torquing The Viper’s neck with the stick to finally, at long last, tap Orton out.

But it was what happened afterward that was truly shocking, as Orton, in perfect position to strike Bryan in retaliation, instead offered his hand and left the former World Champion to celebrate his win. Those who want respect, give respect.